The #10 Kentucky Wildcats face off against the #6 Florida Gators on Saturday, January 4th at 11 am EST. It is the kick-off to SEC play for both teams, and it has the potential to be a barn-burner. Florida has yet to lose a game this seaso,n and Kentucky will be looking to knock them off their pedestal at Rupp Arena.
We had the opportunity to talk with Benjamin Henderson of Hail Florida Hail which is a Florida Gators Fansided site. He was gracious enough to answer a few questions about the upcoming top-10 matchup between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida Gators.
Describe the Florida basketball team. What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Florida is very much a dribble-drive type of team. They will cycle around the perimeter, and if they feel like there is any kind of opening, they will attack.
However, one of Florida's hidden weapons is its offensive rebounding. The Gators collect their own miss 41% of the time. That's the second-best rate in the country. It's hard to pin a weakness on the squad right now, but one notable stat is that despite being a team that likes to attack the basket, they don't actually draw that many fouls. They are drawing 17 fouls against per game. That's just 199th in the country.
What can be expected from this game against Kentucky?
Florida has played a respectable enough schedule, but they have yet to face a top-25 squad. This is going to be an uptempo game where the winner might have to score 90. The biggest X factor will be how Florida adjusts to facing a team of similar size to them, as Kentucky is a good shot-blocking team.
What is your score prediction?
First to 90 wins. I think Florida has just enough of an edge with rebounding on the offensive end that they can generate some second-chance opportunities to get over the hump.
Hail Florida Hail prediction: Florida 90, Kentucky 84